The present invention relates to a disintegration testing device for detecting the disintegration behavior or solid particles, in particular tablets, in liquids, the disintegration testing device comprising a supporting device having a carrier which is mounted for reciprocation in a vertical direction, for vessel for housing the solid particles, a liquid bath into which the vessel is submergeable, a first lifting device including a roller arranged at a lifting arm at a given distance from a motor driven driving shaft, which roller supports the carrier which moves the vessel in the upward and downward directions in the liquid upon a rotation of the lifting arm, and a second lifting device, which upon its activation, lifts the vessel out of the liquid bath.
Such a disintegration testing device has been available on the market for years. For carrying out a test it is necessary that a vessel is moved in upward and downward directions in a liquid bath for obtaining defined conditions during the disintegration process and for simulating the conditions to which the tablet is subjected upon disintegration within the body of the patient. For determining to what extent a tablet disintegrates within a time period of ten minutes, e.g., in the case of continuous movement in the liquid, it has up-to-now been the common practice to set the duration of operation of the driving motor to 10 minutes so that the motor stops after this period of time has elapsed. This time is controlled with more or less accuracy and the vessel is removed from the liquid manually. In the course of this action it cannot be avoided that the tablets unintentionally still remain in the liquid for some further time period prior to being removed, namely at such times when the laboratory assistant does not exactly establish the end of the test.
A disintegration testing device has already been known from the German utility model No. DE-GM 8615404.4, such device comprising a first lifting device which is driven by a motor and by means of which a supporting device is moved in the upward and downward directions, and a vessel containing the tablets and mounted on said supporting device and together therewith being moved in the upward and downward directions in the liquid. Such a known disintegration testing device comprises a second lifting device which, upon actuation, lifts the vessel out of the liquid. Upon lifting the motor is switched off and thus a reliable operation is achieved, as the vessel automatically is removed from the liquid at an exact point in time. The second lifting device, however, requires a comparatively large amount of expenditure.